


Ghost Stories

by VideoPlay5178



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-25
Updated: 2015-03-25
Packaged: 2018-03-19 15:36:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3615228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VideoPlay5178/pseuds/VideoPlay5178
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray has dealt with ghosts all his life while Ryan has always repelled ghosts. The two of them meeting is the best thing to happen to Ray in long time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ghost Stories

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a silly idea as well and then it got long. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!

            Ray’s shoulders sagged under the weight of the ghost clinging to him. He trudged toward the college’s AC, the ghost pressing down on him and laughing in his ear. All his life, Ray had attracted ghosts to him. His energy was appealing to them and they would eat it in a sense. They used his energy to exist outside of the place they were from. It was exhausting because something else was feeding off of his energy.

            When he was home he would only have to deal with these magnet ghosts for only a day because at night a demon in his house would eat the ghosts he brought home. Well, he had no idea if the shadow man was a demon, but it ate spirits so it was definitely something else. Ray was pretty sure that the deal was that the shadow man – a spirit that literally looked only like a shadow unless it was eating in which case it unhinged its jaw – protected the house as long as Ray continued feeding it ghosts.

            So Ray has attracted spirits all his life but he never really had to deal with them. They were eaten before they became a problem. However, since he went to college, there was no shadow man to eat the ghosts he attracted. Ray had lucked out that he hadn’t attracted any ghosts until now.

            George, the ghost pushing on his shoulders and poking him in the back, had appeared about a week ago. He had floated into Ray’s room from the window and slammed his door shut. Since then, the ghost was non-stop torturing Ray. From dreams given to him by the ghost, Ray knew that George was once a civil war soldier and a huge playboy. Ray had woken up twice extremely uncomfortable with the images George had showed him. Why did he have to get a super sexual ghost when he was asexual? How does that work?

            Ray couldn’t really see George, he felt his presence and could sometimes see a shadowed figure with white eyes staring at him from the foot of his bed. If he wasn’t used to this, Ray would be scared. However, he had grown up with spirits all his life and they always appeared the same way. Sometimes their eyes would be pink which was when Ray got scared. White eyed ghosts were relatively neutral and weak. Red eyed ghosts were violent and strong. Pink was the in-between state where they were hard to get rid of and violent. They couldn’t move things like red eyed ghosts, but they could do a number on a person.

            Regardless, Ray just had to deal with George until he could go home and the bastard was eaten. Ray felt no remorse for George’s fate. For all he knew, being eaten could send them to heaven. Regardless of his fate, nothing was stopping George from being the most annoying son of a bitch Ray had had to deal with in a while. As it turned out, the longer a ghost hangs around the stronger it gets. Ray was starting to worry that George might get pink eyes before he could go home.

            “I have a tutor for your class.” Ray’s professor said, gesturing to a name written on the barely used chalk board. “If you did poorly on the last test, go talk to him.”

            Ray looked at the board with tired eyes and scribbled the name and email down. He hadn’t done poorly on the last test but because of George, Ray was exhausted and was prone to zoning out more. He might need the extra help.

            “Oh there you are.” The professor smiled, gesturing to a tall, muscular older student who opened the door to their classroom. “I just told them about you.”

            Ray glanced at the student who had entered the room. His hair was a soft blond and his blue eyes were bright and kind. He scanned the bored faces of the others kids on the class, his eyes landing on Ray and lingering there. Ray felt awkward and looked at his paper to make sure that he had spelled the tutor’s name correctly. Ryan Haywood was it?

            “Sorry about that.” Ryan said to the professor. “My class ran a bit over.”

            The professor chuckled and shook his head. “It’s fine, tell them what you’re planning.”

            Ryan nodded and looked back at the seated students. Again his eyes lingered on Ray before he finally spoke. “Well I was hoping to get a study group together before the test. You can ask me questions.”

            “Right, so I’ll email that time out to everyone then.” The professor added with a smile. “Any questions for Ryan?” He asked the class.

            _Why do you keep staring at me?_ Ray thought, catching Ryan’s eyes on him again. Instead of looking away, Ryan just smiled at him. Was Ray being flirted with? No way. It had to be something else.

            “Well, if there are no questions, you’re dismissed.” The professor said, gathering up his own things.

            Ray shoved his notebook in his backpack and stood. Pain shot up his spine as George sent an image of a sword going through his back and coming out his stomach. Ray shuddered to himself, wondering over to the door. His back was aching with every step.

            He bumped into someone once in the hallway and nearly fell over. He looks up and Ryan was smiling sheepishly at him. “Are you okay?” He asked, steading Ray with a hand.

            Ray nodded quickly. “Oh yeah, I’m fine.” He says, pain shoot up his spine again. “I- uh I’ve got to go.” He skirted around Ryan and down the stairs. He doesn’t glance back when he thinks he hears Ryan telling him to wait. The older student must have been talking to someone else.

            Ray returned to his dorm and collapsed on his bed. He was exhausted and his back was killing him. He napped for an hour although that just managed to make him more tired. He struggled through his work, eyes drooping and brain thudding. George pestered him the entire afternoon. The only time Ray got peace was when he and his roommate, Michael, went to the cafeteria.

            He got an email that night from his professor about the study group. They would be in the far corner of the Café lounge tomorrow evening. Ray sighed and rubbed his eyes. George tended to leave him alone in public places so Ray figured that he would go early and try to get some work done. He had no classes to worry about tomorrow anyway.

            Ray shuffled into the lounge the next day and collapsed into one of the chairs in the area that they were going to meet in. The lounge had the best chairs in the AC, comfortable enough to sleep on. Ray often wondered if that was purposefully.

            He opened his pack and started to work on the homework he was too tired to work on yesterday. George floated around the lounge and bothered other people, giving Ray some peace. Ray sometimes smiled when he heard other students complain about feeling someone touch them. It was always more amusing when he wasn’t the target.

            “You’re here early.” A deep voice startled Ray and he looked up. Ryan was smiling at him, a shoulder bag hanging off of the crook of his elbow. “By about five hours.”

            Ray awkwardly smiled back at the older student. “You’re early too.” He pointed out as Ryan sat next to Ray on the couch he had claimed. “I work better in here anyway.”

            Ryan nodded and pulled out a large text book. “I know what you mean.” He smiled at Ray, glancing around before looking back at him. “That’s why I’m here early as well.”

            Ray nodded and looked back at his math homework. George was hovering around him again. Ray tried to suppress a wince when George pressed on him, making his headache worse. George did not like Ryan, not one bit.

            Ray sighed and tried to concentrate on his work again. He flinched when Ryan’s arm moved around him and he looked at the older student in confused shock. Ryan wasn’t looking at Ray however, he was glaring at where Ray felt George to be.

            Ray’s eyes went wide as he glanced at Ryan’s hand and saw that he was forcing George away from Ray with just moving his hand. Ray’s head stopped pounding and he looked at Ryan with amazement. “Can you see him?”

            Ryan flinched and looked at Ray and frowned. He moved his hand back to his lap but George didn’t go back to pestering Ray. “I can, I wasn’t sure if you could. Sorry if I startled you.”

            “Oh no you’re fine.” Ray shrugged. “Well, I sort of see him. I feel him more than I see him. Sometimes I see a shadow with white eyes.”

            “Really?” Ryan asked, raising an interested eyebrow. “I see a cloud looking thing. How long has he been bothering you?”

            Ray sighed and tried to think back to when exactly George had arrived. “George showed up about a week ago.” He said, glancing around to see where George was. “I’ve attracted ghosts all of my life though.”

            Ryan chuckled and shook his head. “I’ve always repelled ghosts.” He admitted, glancing around. “Shouldn’t you have more ghosts around you if you attract them?”

            Ray shook his head. “There’s this demon thing that lives in my parent’s house. It eats them as payment for protecting the house.”

            “A demon?” Ryan asked with a worried frown. “Isn’t that a bad thing?”

            “Well, I don’t know what it is.” Ray chuckled awkwardly. “It just eats the ghosts I bring home so I never questioned it.”

            Ryan nodded, thinking Ray’s words over. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a spirit like that. Interesting.”

            Ray chuckled. “The shadow man is nice though. I’ve never felt threatened by him.” He said, watching George pull at a girl’s hair. “And he keeps magnets off of me, which is nice.”

            “But he’s not here.” Ryan frowned, watching George as well. “Do you know other methods of getting rid of him?”

            Ray shook his head, glancing at the math binder in his lap, having forgotten that it was there. “I don’t know but I’ll eventually go home.” He shrugged, erasing a mistake that he had missed. “George has white eyes so he’s not a big threat, just a bit annoying.”

            “White eyes?” Ryan asked, digging through his bag while still looking at Ray.

            “Oh uh, it means he’s a weak spirit.” Ray said, not wanting to explain everything at the moment. He still had work to do and he was still tired.

            Ryan looked like he wanted to argue or ask more but he didn’t. Instead he opened his text book and scooted closer to Ray so that their legs and shoulders were almost touching. “Well, I’ll keep him off of you for now.” He smiled at Ray.

            Ray blushed and really hoped that Ryan couldn’t see it. “Oh. Thanks.” He smiled sheepishly, looking back at his math.

            They worked for the next hour in silence. George stayed away from Ray but he was angry about it. Ryan had gotten up once to get a coffee from the Café in the lounge and George made Ray’s back ache horribly. Ray managed to hide his pain, relieved when Ryan returned. This was not going to end well for him.

            Ray chose to enjoy his time free from George and managed to get a lot of work done. He and Ryan occasionally talked, Ray properly introducing himself to Ryan. The older student was studying computer science, history, and theater. He was a junior and a favorite among the professors. He had a lot of good advice for Ray but he was also a giant nerd so they could talk about video games for hours if they had the time.

            Eventually the study session started and Ray faded into the background. Ryan was eager to help the other students and since Ray was in a better state of mind, he was handling his work fairly well. Ryan bounced around through the group, helping each of the few students that came.

            As soon as Ryan had left his seat next to Ray, George struck. Ray bit his lip in false concentration as George ripped at his skin. His back felt wet so he pulled his hoodie on to hide the blood no doubt soaking through his shirt. Ray held back winces and pained whimpers and tried to focus on his work. He could deal with his back later.

            The study session was only an hour long and once that hour was up, the other students packed up and left. Ray was slow to put his things away. Every movement made his back burn. George had eventually stopped scratching at him but not before doing a number on his back.

            Ryan had returned to the couch, putting his things away. He smiled at Ray then frowned. “Are you okay?” He asked.

            Ray looked up at Ryan with confusion. Did he look sick or something? “I’m fine.” He said, forcing himself to his feet. He tried not to wobble, hiding his discomfort as blood slid down his back.

            “Ray, you’re bleeding. What happened?” Ryan asked worriedly, pointing to the blood on Ray’s fingers. Ray looked at his hand and frowned. He must have not noticed the scratch on his shoulder dripping blood down his arm.

            Ray cursed and tried to hide his hand in his sleeve. “Fucking ghosts.” He mumbled to himself, although Ryan managed to hear him.

            “George did this?” Ryan asked, gently touching Ray’s shoulder and looking at him over. When Ryan looked at Ray’s back, his eyes went wide. Ray’s gray hoodie was stained dark red. “Shit, we need to get you to health services.”

            “They’re closed.” Ray sighed, knowing only because Michael got sick in the middle of the night and they couldn’t get into the health services office until the next morning. “I’m alright.”

            “That’s not alright.” Ryan insisted, looking a little lost for a moment before grabbing Ray’s packed bag and shouldering it. He pulled his own bag on his other shoulder and draped his jacket over Ray’s shoulders. “Come on, I have a first aid kit in my room.” He took Ray’s hand and led him out of the lounge.

            Ray stumbled after Ryan, too tired to fight it at this point. Ryan’s jacket was heavy and made him feel safe and small. George made a screeching noise when he tried to get close to Ray. Ryan’s energy must have been pouring off of the jacket, keeping the ghost away. Ray smiled slightly as Ryan pulled him into one of the upperclassmen dorms. He should hang around Ryan more often.

            Ryan lived on the second floor of the dormitory. “I live with three others.” Ryan explained, opening the door to his room and letting Ray in first. “I think Geoff and Jack are out drinking. I don’t know where Burnie is.”

            Ray nodded numbly as he looked around Ryan’s room. Their beds were bunked in one corner of the room, the two provided desks next to the beds. The door that led to the connected bathroom was next to a decent sized TV with a couch in front of it. Ray looked at Ryan and raised an eyebrow when the older student was writing different strange symbols on the white board stuck to his door.

            “What are you doing?” Ray asked, wincing when George glared at him from the hallway. He was a shadow once again, white eyes glowing. “George is pissed.”

            “I bet he is.” Ryan chuckled, capping the dry erase marker and tossing it onto his desk. He closed his door, blocking Ray’s view of George. “I just wrote all of the protective seals that I know on the white board. He can’t get in this room.” He smiled at Ray, dropping their bags near the desks.

            Ray blinks and smiled. “You need to teach me some of those.” He said, looking around the room again.

            “I will once you’re back isn’t bloody.” Ryan frowned, digging around in one of the dressers next to the beds. “Take off your shirt.”

            Ray blushed but did as he was told. He hissed as he peeled off his hoodie and then his shit. He held the dripping clothing, not wanting to get anything soaked in blood. He really did bleed a lot, George must have really fucked up his back.

            Ryan frowned and set a bulky first aid kit down on the couch before going into the bathroom. He came out a moment later with a towel and a wet wash cloth. He placed the towel at Ray’s feet. “Set your clothes on that.” He told Ray before looked at Ray’s back and whistling. “Damn he really did a number on you. At least your pants aren’t soaked in blood.”

            Ray blushed because to make that observation, Ryan had to look at his ass. Of course Ray made that assumption right away, his mind was deep in the gutter today. Ray awkwardly bent over to place his clothes on the towel to keep them from splashing blood everywhere. For some reason he still felt eyes on him until he straightened. “Great.” He sighed, he actually liked that shirt.

            Ryan chuckled, blushing lightly and directed Ray to the couch. He made Ray sit sideways before sitting behind him. Ryan gently cleaned Ray’s back and Ray bit his lip to keep from hissing in pain. “Did he write anything?” Ray joked although a ghost had done that to him before. He was pretty sure it was scarred but that was ruined by the new marks now.

            “No, but he was definitely really angry.” Ryan sighed. “These cuts are deep, I’m surprised you haven’t passed out from blood loss.”

            “I’m a stubborn bastard.” Ray laughed, hissing in pain when Ryan started to clean one of the deeper scratches.

            “Sorry.” Ryan said, gently patting Ray’s shoulder. “You have a lot of scars, do they do this to you often?”

            Ray sighed and shook his head. “Not really. I got a particularly nasty ghost once though. He had pink eyes.” He recalled, wincing at the memory. “He carved ‘Ten days to live’ into my back in Latin. He was eaten the next night.”

            Ryan frowned. “That’s awful.” He said, tossing the wash cloth onto the towel. “What do you mean by pink eyes? You mentioned them before.”

            Ray glanced back at Ryan as the older student started to pull gauze out of the first aid kit. “Well, if they have white eyes they’re not necessarily evil, just annoying. And their weak.” He explained, looking forward again as Ryan started to rub Neosporin into his cuts. He tried not to yelp in pain “When their eyes are red they’re really strong and violent. Pink eyes are the in-between state where they can’t move things but they can fuck with you emotionally and physically.”

            “Interesting.” Ryan marveled. “I’ve just seen clouds.” He placed pads on the worst cuts, the clotting blood holding them in place as Ryan pressed the start of the gauze on Ray’s side. “Can you hold that for me?”

            Ray held onto the gauze as Ryan wrapped Ray’s lower back. “I’ve never met anyone who can repel ghosts before so that’s pretty awesome.” Ray offered, trying to relax.

            Ryan chuckled and clipped the gauze down when he got to the end of the roll. He pulled out another roll and had Ray hold that start down as well. “My mother has a stronger connection with ghosts than I do. I can’t communicate with them either.”

            Ray shook his head, lifting his arms up so that Ryan could easily wrap his chest. “Consider yourself lucky. They eat off of my energy and talk to me through it.” He said, lowering his arms when Ryan clipped the gauze. “It’s hell.”

            Ryan stood, tossing the medical supplies back into his kit. “Looks like it.” He sighed, giving Ray a reassuring smile. He picked the kit up and took it over to his dresser again. He tossed Ray an oversized shirt. “You can wear that, don’t worry about giving it back.”

            Ray pulled the shirt over his head and chuckled at how big it was on him. He stood and laughed outright. “Fuck man, this is a dress on me.”

            Ryan laughed, smiling at Ray. “Well you’re smaller than I am.” He said, rolling Ray’s bloody clothes up in the towel. “Do you want to keep these or?”

            Ray shook his head. “It’s pointless to keep them when they’re this soaked.” He said, stopping Ryan before the older student could throw the clothes and towel in his trashcan. “I’ll get rid of them, you’ve done enough for me.”

            Ryan chuckled and threw the bloody bundle away anyway. “Its fine Ray, you needed the help. Does your roommate know about George?”

            Ray shook his head, grabbing his backpack. “I told him and George bothers him sometimes but he refuses to believe that he exists.” He told Ryan. “And I should probably leave.”

            Ryan shrugged. “You don’t have to but alright.” He smiled at Ray, looking a little sad that Ray was leaving. “Just be careful okay?” He said walking over to his door and opening it for Ray.

            “I wi-“ Ray’s words were sucked out of his body along with his breathe. Once the door was open, Ray saw George in the door way, eyes glowing pink. Ray couldn’t breathe in and his knees gave out. Emotions and pain hit him like a wave and he curled up on himself. Tears streamed down his face as he sucked in painful breaths.

            “Ray?” Ryan left the door open and kneeled next to Ray. He gently touched Ray’s shoulder and Ray shook with a sob. He pulled at his hair and he retched. He felt horrible sick and horrible words spun around his head without control.

            Ray looked up, George was staring him down and Ray knew he had to break the connection. He wobbled toward the door on his hands and knees, nearly falling over like a newborn calf. He manage to swing the door shut before collapsing on the ground. The connection was broken but the damage was already done. Ray was having a panic attack and he couldn’t stop it now.

            Ray squeezed his head and curled in on himself. He was freezing one moment and extremely warm the next. His limbs wanted to move without control until he fell apart so he dug his nails into his scalp to hold himself together. Ryan’s voice was a distant fog but he could feel comforting hands pick him up. He was pulled into a warm body and clung to that instead.

            He shook with his sobs, trying to remember how to count his breathing. Ghosts had given him panic attacks before, just not one this bad. His father, who had the same ability with ghosts, had taught him how to handle these sorts of things but his mind was too scrambled to remember.

            “Ray, I’m going to count to seven and you breathe to that, alright?” Ryan’s voice finally made it to him and Ray nodded numbly.

            As Ryan counted, Ray breathed with him. Eventually Ray’s stomach stopped flipping and he stopped shaking. Ryan whipped his tears away with a tissue and gently rocked back and forth to keep him calm. Ray’s eyes drooped as he calmed, snuggling further into Ryan’s warmth.

            He felt George’s anger when the door opened again but it was only for a moment. Two Ryan’s were talking which really confused Ray until he looked up at a bearded man with a worried look on his face. Was that Ryan’s roommate? Wait, was he in Ryan’s lap? Oh well, fuck it. Ryan was warm and safe.

            Ray didn’t know he had fallen asleep until Ryan was gently shaking him. Ray looked up at Ryan with dazed eyes. “Ray, are you going to be okay if I leave?” He asked and Ray nodded slowly. He just wanted to sleep.

            Ryan gently laid Ray down and wrapped him up in a blanket. Ray curled into a ball and fell back asleep. He was startled awake by his phone alarmed, muffled by his pant pocket. He searched for his phone, digging it out of his pocket and glanced at it. He turned off the alarm set to wake him up half an hour before his first class.

            Ray groaned quietly and checked his email. Class wasn’t canceled but god he felt like shit. His entire body ached and his stomach was in knots. It was his history class, the one Ryan had the tutoring session for. The test wasn’t that day so Ray shot his professor an email saying that he was recovering from a panic attack and wouldn’t be in class.

            Ray started to drift back to sleep, his phone beside his head, when it buzzed at him. He begrudgingly opened it and glanced at his email. His professor wished him well and gave him the notes from class. Ray smiled, he knew there was a reason that he liked that professor. He remembered to set his alarm thirty minutes before his next class and fell asleep again.

            The next time he woke up it was to someone moving around the room. Ray peaked out from under the blanket which he had thrown over his head at some point. The bearded man that Ray half remembered from the other night was getting dressed. Ray frowned and felt bad that he was crashing on their couch but he felt too shitty to leave. He was too afraid of George to leave by himself.

            Ray fell asleep again and woke up to his alarm a bit later. He didn’t really feel any better, but he figured that it was about time he left anyway. He pulled the blanket off of him and was met with Ryan’s face inches from his. He yelped and tried to back further into the couch.

            Ryan stumbled back with a blush and chuckled awkwardly. “Sorry.” He said, offering Ray his hand. “I was about to wake you to tell you that I was leaving.”

            Ray’s head spun for a moment before he took Ryan’s hand and sat up right. He felt horrible. “It’s fine.” Ray slurred, wobbling where he sat. “I need to go to class anyway.”

            Ryan nodded, frowning at Ray. “You sure that’s a good idea? You look like you’re going to puke.” He said, moving his trashcan over to Ray.

            Ray snorted and shook his head slowly. “I won’t puke, I just feel like shit.” He slowly stood and used the couch for balance as he searched for his backpack. “I should stop being in the way anyway.”

            Ryan frowned and grabbed Ray’s backpack from where it was hiding. “You’re not in the way, you had a panic attack. You’re welcome to stay for as long as you need.”

            Ray smiled gratefully at Ryan as he took his pack and slung it on his shoulder. He winced, forgetting that his back was fucked up. “Thank you Ryan. But I do need to go to class.”

            Ryan sighed and nodded. “Alright, well let me walk you there.” He said, offering Ray his arm. “You look like you could fall over any second.”

            “That’s because I will.” Ray chuckled, taking Ryan’s arm and leaning heavily against the older student. His legs felt like noodles and he knew that he should probably lay back down and sleep the day away, but he knew that he couldn’t. He looked at the door and took a deep breath. “Just keep George off me? Please?”

            Ryan squeezed Ray’s arm and wrapped his arm around Ray’s shoulders. “I can do that.” He smiled at Ray and walked them slowly toward the door. George was an angry hum around them as they walked through the campus toward the AC. Ray could tell by most of the looks sent their way that it looked like Ryan was helping a really sick friend, but Ray couldn’t help but feel somewhat giddy at Ryan’s arm being around him.

            He had just met Ryan sure but he could still appreciate the fact that Ryan was really good looking and far out of his league. He was also an awesome person and Ray liked talking to him. It was nice having someone who knew that he wasn’t insane and just generally someone awesome to talk to.

            Ryan walked Ray to his class although Ray told him that he didn’t have to. “You sure you’re going to be okay?” Ryan asked Ray with a worried frown.

            “I’ll be fine Ryan.” Ray smiled. He really did not want to go to class, but his parents weren’t paying a shit ton of money for him to skip out.

            Ryan nodded, pulling his jacket off and dropping it gently on Ray’s shoulder. “That should keep George off of you for a while.” Ryan told Ray, running off before Ray could argue.

            Ray didn’t have the energy to chase after Ryan so he just smiled and wrapped the jacket tightly around himself. He wobbled into his class and barely paid attention. An hour and five minutes later he was free to go.

Normally he would just sit in the Café lounge before his next class and buy a sandwich or something so he wondered down the stairs slowly. Even if Ray really just wanted to go to the dorm and sleep, his last class was math and he was struggling in that class. Ray sighed, wrapped Ryan’s jacket tighter around him, and wondered into the lounge.

He collapsed into an arm chair and curled up into a ball. He eyed the Café and wondered if he could stomach anything there. He knew that he should probably get something to drink at least so he stood and ordered the soup of the day and a water.

Ray curled up into a ball again when he got his order and sighed. He was glad that Ryan’s jacket was actually keeping George away. The ghost had been constantly circling him but because of Ryan’s energy on the jacket, he couldn’t touch Ray.

Ray was worried for the moment when his energy would replace Ryan’s. Maybe he could go back to Ryan’s dorm and be safe for a while. He could think about that later, right now the soup smelled pretty good even if his stomach was doing flips.

Ray ate slowly to avoid upsetting his stomach and people watched. Occasionally George would growl at him or try to touch him but couldn’t. Ray just pulled the jacket closer to him. He finished only a small amount of the soup and sat back. He still had an hour before his class so he just focused on feeling better.

“Oh hey, you were the guy that was on our couch.” A deep voice said from behind Ray.

Ray looked behind him and the bearded man was looking down at him with a smile and worried eyes. “Oh, uh. Yeah, sorry about that.”

The man shook his head and sat in the chair across from Ray. “It’s not a problem, you were having a bad panic attack when I walked in.” He said, glancing at the basically full soup container. “Still feeling shitty?”

Ray sighed and nodded. “Yeah, panic attacks fucking suck.” He smiled bitterly before offering the man his hand. “I’m Ray.”

“I know.” The man chuckled, taking Ray’s hand anyway. “I’m Jack. Ryan hasn’t stopped talking about you since he saw you in that class he was tutoring for.”

Ray blushed lightly, taking his hand back and relaxing in his chair again. “He hasn’t?” He asked, feeling happy then he realized that Ryan wasn’t talking about Ray for, well, Ray. “Because of George?”

“If you mean that ghost that’s bothering you, yeah.” Jack said and Ray was disheartened. Leave it to him to gain the interest of a decent guy only for it to be about the ghost following him around. “Ryan knows a shit ton about ghosts and I believe him when he says that he sees them. I was kind of shocked to find out what George did to you.”

Ray sighed and smiled crookedly. “It’s nothing new honestly.” He admitted, flinching when he felt a cold chill going down his spine. Was his energy replacing Ryan’s already?

Jack shook his head. “That’s fucking scary man.” He said, raising an eyebrow at the jacket Ray was wearing. “Is that Ryan’s?”

Ray shook the chill off as nothing and nodded at Jack. “Yeah. Ryan’s energy does the exact opposite of mine and repels ghosts.” He explained, fiddling with the jacket’s sleeve. It smelled like Ryan now that he thought about it. “And his energy is on this jacket so it’ll keep George away for a while at least.”

Jack nodded, rubbing his beard. “How long until that stops working?” He asked with a worried frown. “Will George tare up your back again?”

Ray frowned and shrugged. “I honestly don’t know.” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “This is the longest I’ve had to deal with a magnet.”

Jack nodded, thinking for a moment. “Why don’t you come back to our room then?” He asked. “Once your classes are done. The jacket can be re-energized or something and you can rest easy.”

Ray blinked at Jack and smiled at him. “I can? Is that alright?”

“I wouldn’t have suggested it if it wasn’t.” Jack smiled at Ray before standing. “Ryan seems to like you anyway.”

Ray smiled and chuckled. “Awesome, thank you.” He said, checking the time. He should probably get to class. He slowly stood as Jack laughed and walked away with a wave.

Ray waved back and slowly made his way to his class. He barely paid attention to his professor, he would feel guilty if they were any good at teaching. George was starting to prod at Ray and he needed to get to Ryan’s room quickly. As soon as class was over he walked as quickly as he could to his dorm, gathered his computer and other school work and left again.

As he walked toward Ryan’s dorm Ray realized how lucky he was. If Michael had been in their room he would have asked Ray a million questions that he didn’t have the patients or time for. The longer he was in his room the more George could do to him.

He was shaking badly when he got to Ryan’s room, the seals were still on the white board. His back was burning, George pressing into the worst cuts. His stomach was doing flips as he knocked on the door. He really hopped that either Jack or Ryan were there.

The door opened a moment later and Ryan looked at Ray shocked but then he smiled. “Hey, Jack told me that you would probably come.” He said, letting Ray into the room. “How are you feeling?”

“Shitty.” Ray said, shuddering when George raged behind the closed door. “But I’ll be alright.” He smiled at Ryan.

Ryan smiled back and ruffled Ray’s hair gently. “Did the jacket help?” He asked, moving back over to his desk.

Ray nodded, setting his things down next to the couch. “Yeah it did, although my energy is already covering up yours.” He said, tugging the jacket off, careful of his back. “Here, thank you.”

Ryan smiled and took the jacket, and setting it on the back of his chair. “No problem Ray. How’s your back?”

Ray shrugged and slowly sat down on the couch. “It hurts and George was pushing on it, but I’m alright.”

“We should change your bandages tomorrow.” Ryan said, sitting in his desk chair with a worried frown. “You should stay here tonight.”

Ray dug through his backpack and pulled out a bundle of rolled up clothes. “Way ahead of you.” He smiled, standing up and heading for the bathroom. “That’s okay, right?” He asked, hesitating with his hand on the doorknob.

Ryan nodded with a bright smile. “Of course.” He told Ray before turning back to his computer.

Ray smiled and changed his clothes. He wondered out of the bathroom just as the door to the other room opened and a short man with a handlebar mustache charged past him into Ryan’s room. “Ryan!” The man’s voice cracked and Ray raised an eyebrow as he moved back over to the couch.

“Yes Geoff?” Ryan said with fake innocence. He turned around in his chair and had a shit eating grin.

“Why the hell is my computer refusing to do anything other than show a cow video?” Geoff demanded, glaring at Ryan. “I have shit to do!”

Ryan chuckled darkly and Ray just smiled. “That’s what you get for changing my gamer tag.” Ryan sneered, turning back to his computer. “There is more to come.”

“Oh come on!” Geoff groaned, running his fingers through his hair. “It was funny!”

Ray shook his head and ignored the older students as they argued. He pulled out his phone and texted Michael. He had gotten all of his roommate’s worried texts in his math class. He calmly explained to Michael what happened and where he was.

“And who the fuck is this kid? Are you banging when Jack’s not around?” Geoff said, startling Ray.

Ray looked up from his phone, blushing. Geoff was giving him an interested and knowing smile. “W-what?” Ray stuttered, trying to hide behind his phone.

Ryan blushed and glared at Geoff. “No we’re not banging. Ray’s a friend who has a ghost problem.”

“Oh, is that why you have seals on your white board.” Geoff said, scratching his chin. Ray was surprised that he turned serious so quickly. “How bad of a ghost problem?”

“Well his back is fucked up.” Ryan said. “I’m surprised you can’t sense George actually.”

Ray frowned when Geoff gave him a hard look. “I mean, George is pissed but its fine.” He said, feeling uncomfortable under Geoff’s stare.

“If it was fine you wouldn’t need seals to protect you.” Geoff countered. “I did sense a presence but it didn’t seem interested in me so I ignored it.”

“Geoff also attracts ghosts.” Ryan explained to Ray. “But they eventually leave him alone.”

“I don’t have enough energy to keep them around.” Geoff shrugged, sitting next to Ray on the couch. “You must have a shit ton of energy to keep a pissed spirit around.”

Ray sighed and shrugged. “Something like that.” He said. “Can you see them too?”

“Nah, I can only feel them.” Geoff said, leaning forward to grab an x-box controller from under the TV. “Know how you’re going to get rid of it?”

Ray glanced at Ryan but the other student was already doing his homework again. He sighed and started pulling his books out of his pack. “Well, a demon thing in my house usually eats them.”

“That’s unreliable.” Geoff snorted before smiling at Ray. “You play games?”

Ray nodded and gave Geoff a cocky smile. “I’m fucking awesome at games because I’m a loser.”

Geoff barked a laugh and passed Ray a controller. “Care to prove that?”

Geoff and Ray easily bonded over games, Geoff learning that Ray was, in fact, very good at video games. They played until Ryan made them do homework, promising to fix Geoff’s computer. Once his computer was back to normal Geoff disappeared back into his room.

Ray had just started his homework when Jack entered the room and collapsed on the bottom bed. “Long day?” Ryan asked without looking away from his desk.

“Yes.” Jack’s voice was muffled by his pillow. “Hi Ray.”

Ray chuckled. “Hi Jack.” He said before putting his ear buds in and listening to music as he worked. As the evening carried on, Jack, Geoff, and another tall man with curly brown hair went in and out of the room. The only one who didn’t really move was Ryan.

Ray stayed on the couch, shifting into a new position every so often. Ryan joined him on the couch at some point and was reading a Latin text book. When Rat finished his work he pulled his ear buds out and glanced around the room. Jack and the curly haired man were on the lower bed which Ray assumed was Jack’s bed.

“Finished?” Ryan asked Ray when he turned back around. “Want to play some games?”

Ray smiled and nodded. “Sure.” He said, putting his books away.

“Burnie, Jack. Do you want to play?” Ryan asked the two men on the bed. “Halo?”

“Fuck yeah.” The curly haired man, Burnie, smiled. He crawled out of Jack’s bed and joined them on the couch. He sat next to Ray and looked him over. “I’m Burnie.”

Ray smiled awkwardly at Burnie, trying to stuff himself as far into the corner of the couch as possible. “Ray.” He said, offering Burnie his hand.

Burnie smiled and shook Ray’s hand. “I know.” He chuckled taking the controller Jack offered him. “Ryan wouldn’t shut up about you.”

“Hey!” Ryan blushed from where he was putting Halo into the x-box. “I was just worried about him.”

“Yeah, worried.” Jack snorted, sitting next to Burnie, leaving the other end of the couch open for Ryan. “That’s all.”

Burnie laughed and shook his head. “You were fucking swooning.”

Ray and Ryan blushed and refused to look at each other. “Shut up.” Ryan mumbled, sitting heavily next to Jack and starting the game up. “Where’s Geoff?”

“On a date with Griffon.” Burnie said, leaning back on the couch. “He’ll probably crash at her place tonight.”

“About time they stayed at her house.” Jack snorted, watching the screen. “I’m really tired of them trying to fuck on our couch.”

Ray made a face and shuddered. “Hey, tell me that shit after I’ve slept on it.” He snorted.

“You’ve already slept on it.” Ryan laughed, staring up the game. “It’s clean I promise.”

“Why don’t I believe you?” Ray joked getting a chuckle out of the older students. As Geoff had learned, Burnie, Jack, and Ryan learned that Ray was too good at whatever game they challenged him to. The only thing that they could stump him on was a trivia game which Ryan won like he always did.

They eventually gave up on games and Burnie ordered them pizza. Jack laid down on his bed again while Ray and Ryan talked on the couch. Ray glanced at his phone when it buzzed with a message. He snorted when Michael told him that Gavin and Lindsay would be over and that it would be best that Ray didn’t come back tonight.

“Something the matter?” Ryan asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ray shook his head and put his phone away. “My roommate is having his uh.” Ray frowned, searching for the right word. “Significant others in our room and was just warning me if I did come back.”

“Significant others?” Jack asked from his bed. “There’s an ‘s’ at the end of that.”

Ray shrugged. “It’s a poly-relationship thing.” He explained. “They’re cute together when they’re not trying to fuck each other.”

Ryan snorted and shook his head. “As long as they’re happy.” He smiled and Ray felt relieved. If they were okay with that would they be okay with Ray being asexual? That would be interesting to find out.

Burnie came back into the room, having gone into the bathroom to be able to talk to the pizza place in quiet. “Who’s paying?”

Ryan and Jack rolled their eyes before Ray piped up. “I will?” He said awkwardly. He didn’t have enough cash on him but he knew the delivery guy had a card scanner. He owed the older students for putting up with him anyway.

“Oh I like him.” Burnie smiled at Ryan before crashing on Jack’s bed. “He’s a keeper Ryan.”

Ryan snorted and shook his head. Neither Ray nor Ryan were embarrassed by Burnie’s constant jokes anymore, although they were rattling around in their heads. “I’ll go down with you.” Ryan told Ray with a smile.

Ray nodded and dug around for his wallet. Before they left Ryan placed his jacket on Ray’s shoulders again, ignoring Burnie’s comments. Ray blushed and pulled the jacket around him. George was angrier now than before. He stayed away because of Ryan but the ghost was getting worse.

Ray paid for the pizza, that Ryan carried, and they returned to Ryan’s room. Ray gave a relieved sigh when the dense air that George gave off disappeared. He forgot that he was wearing Ryan’s jacket and no one mentioned it. They ate the pizza without plates, Jack breaking out the soda that they had stored in their fridge.

They talked and laughed and Ray enjoyed himself. He only realized that he was still wearing Ryan’s jacket when Ryan had put a movie into his x-box and they settled down to watch a horror movie. Ray wasn’t easy to scare but there were some parts where he hid his face with the jacket.

He was squeezed between Ryan and Burnie. Jack was handling the movie well but Ryan and Burnie both seemed to be shaking. Ray glanced up at Ryan and smiled. The older student looked terrified but he didn’t remove his eyes from the screen. At a particularly bad jump scare Ryan’s arm went around Ray and Burnie gave a small screech and hide his face in Jack’s shoulder.

Ray ended up in Ryan’s lap at some point, the older student hiding his face in Ray’s hair. Burnie was also in Jack’s lap, not that the bearded man minded. Ray chuckled quietly and gently patted Ryan’s head. Ryan was squeezing him a little too tightly and Ray’s back was screaming, but that was alright.

When the movie ended, Jack managed to untangle himself from Burnie and put in a Disney movie. Ray never left Ryan’s lap although Burnie settled down tucked close to Jack. By the end of the movie they were all joking around and smiling. Half way through the third movie, Jack and Ray were falling asleep.

Burnie helped Jack into his bed before leaving for his room. Ryan laid Ray down on the couch and turned the TV off. “Good night Ray.” Ryan smiled at him, ruffling his hair.

Ray smiled sleepily up at Ryan and curled up into Ryan’s jacket. “Night Rye.” He slurred before falling asleep.

* * *

 

Ryan glanced at Ray from his desk as he worked. Ray had been staying with them for a week now and according to Ray, George was getting more and more violent. Twice Ray returned to their apartment which more bad cuts on his back and shaking. Ray had insisted that he try to sleep in his own room after staying with them for the weekend, but that had ended with cuts that needed stiches. Explaining those to health services had been fun.

Burnie, Jack, and Geoff all agreed that having Ray in their dorm was much safer. Ray had grown on them and they enjoyed having him around. The couch was permanently Ray’s space and they all asked him if it was alright for them to sit there. Ray called them ridiculous but it was just how they worked.

Ray was wearing Ryan’s jacket again, they had just gotten back from eating lunch. As they ate, Ryan felt George’s anger and had moved to sit closer to Ray. He wasn’t worried about the ghost hurting the rest of them. According to Geoff it wasn’t interested in them in the slightest. That didn’t stop them from putting seals on Burnie’s and Geoff’s door however.

Ray also wore Ryan’s jacket to classes to keep him safe. When Ray returned to the dorm, Ryan would wear the jacket to put his energy back on it. If Ryan’s jacket wasn’t available, Jack’s worked just as well as it turned out although it didn’t last as long as Ryan’s. Jack’s energy was neutralizing so George was uninterested in it.

Ryan honestly preferred to have Ray wear his jacket for two reasons. It kept George off of him for longer and because he had developed a crush on Ray and seeing the younger student in his jacket was just too cute. He smiled as he watched Ray read his text book, curled up in Ryan’s jacket which he was swimming in.

Jack caught Ryan’s eye from his bed and smiled knowingly. Ryan frowned and quickly looked back at his computer. When Ray was in class and it was just Ryan and Jack, the bearded man insisted that Ryan make a move. He claimed to know that Ray had a thing for Ryan as well but Ryan was too much of a coward to risk it.

As soon as Ray was free of George there would be no reason for him to come back to their dorm. Of course, their next break was still weeks away. Anything could happen.

Geoff burst into their room, startling all of them. “Guys! The hallway is fucked!”

“What?” Jack asked, sitting up on his bed.

“What happened?” Ray asked, setting his computer aside and slowly standing. His back was still giving him trouble.

Ryan frowned and stood from his chair. He opened the door to the hallway and his eyes went wide. There were deep claw marks in the wall between their doors. “Holy shit.”

Jack followed Ryan into the hallway. “What the hell?” He looked at the claw marks.

“CLOSE THE DOOR!” Ray shouted and Ryan immediately ran back into the room. Ray was staring at the open doorway in horror, scrambling to get as far away from the door as he possibly could. Geoff was staring at the door way, extremely pale.

Jack closed the door and watched Ryan run over to Ray and gently hug the younger student. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

Ray’s chest heaved and he clung to Ryan. “Ray? What did you see?” Ryan asked, running his fingers through Ray’s hair to calm him down.

“H-he had red eyes.” Ray stammered, staring at the closed door.

Ryan, Jack, and Geoff tensed and looked at each other worriedly. Ray had explained what red eyes meant to them multiple times. “Guys?” Burnie asked, coming into the room from the bathroom. “What happened to the hallway? Ray? Are you okay?” He asked, stepping completely into the room and looking worried.

“George’s eyes are red.” Geoff croaked, swallowing hard. “He did that to the hallway.”

Burnie’s eyes went wide and he started to pace the room. Jack frowned. “Damn, Ray can’t leave here now, can he?”

Ryan frowned and looked at Ray who was trying to calm down. His fingers were fisted in Ryan’s shirt and he was shaking. “No, I don’t think he can.” He sighed. “We have to do something about this ghost.”

“What the fuck do we do about that?” Geoff asked, shifting nervously. He wasn’t used to a ghost sticking around.

“Get a priest?” Jack suggested. “It’s basically a demon now, isn’t it?”

“I know a guy.” Burnie shrugged, stopping his pacing and frowning. “I’ll call them.” He added, pulling his phone out and dialing a number.

An hour later there was a knock on their door. Ryan was on the couch, an arm wrapped around Ray to keep him calm. Burnie was pacing the room and Geoff was playing Minecraft to stay calm. Jack pulled himself off of his bed and opened the door.

A women with long blond hair stood in front of the door. She didn’t look like a priest or a nun but there was a cross around her neck. “Barb!” Burnie smiled, relieved. “About time you showed up.”

The blond smiled and waltzed into the room. She handed Burnie a hand mirror. “There’s your ghost!” She said cheerfully. “He held still for me.”

Burnie looked at the mirror in horror and nearly dropped the mirror. The women grabbed it before it could shatter on the ground. “Careful!” She scolded. “If you break this he’ll get out!”

Ryan frowned at the women as Ray scrambled to get away from the women and the mirror. The younger student climbed over Ryan and clung to his arm in fear. “It’s in the mirror?” He asked. “How the hell did that happen?”

“You can trap ghosts in mirrors?” Jack asked, confused. “And who are you?”

Geoff set his controller down and eyed the mirror in the women’s hands. “Are there still claw marks in the hall?”

The women sighed and shook her head. “My name’s Barbra. My dad is a priest so I know how to handle ghosts.” She explained, holding the mirror up. “Mirrors are windows into soul’s right? Just whack a ghost with a mirror and it’s trapped!”

“Is it really stuck in there?” Ray asked with a small voice. “It can’t get out?”

Barbra shook her head. “It’s trapped in here unless you break it.” She said, finally turning to Geoff. “The claw marks disappeared as soon as I trapped him.”

“Oh good, we don’t have to pay for that shit.” Geoff sighed, looking at the mirror. “So it’s trapped in a mirror. Now what?”

“I’ll take it to my dad and he’ll get rid of it.” Barbra shrugged. “Anything else Burnie?”

Burnie shook his head. “No, we’re good. Thanks Barb.” He smiled, pulling the women into a one armed hug.

Barbra nodded and left with the mirror. The five men were silent for a moment before Jack gave a relieved laugh. “Thank god that’s over.” He said, sitting on his bed. “I love having you here Ray, but I’m glad that you can rest easy without that ghost trying to rip you apart.”

Ray nodded relaxing next to Ryan. He rested his forehead on Ryan’s shoulder and gave a shaky sigh. “I’ve never seen a red eyed one before.” He said. “Thank god it’s gone.”

Geoff smiled and returned to his game. “I say we dick around for the rest of the day.” He said. “To celebrate.”

“I’m in!” Burnie smiled and Jack laughed.

Ryan smiled and hugged Ray gently. “You in?” He asked Ray and the younger student nodded happily.

They played games until they got hungry and ordered pizza. Ryan bought it this time because he wanted to spoil Ray a little after the hell he just went through. They watched movies after that. Geoff insisting that they all sit on the couch. It was a tight squeeze with just the four of them and, by design, Ray ended up on Ryan’s lap.

Burnie, Jack, and Geoff smiled when Ryan sent them an embarrassed glare. Ray didn’t seem to mind. He actually snuggled into Ryan a bit at some point during the night. They all passed out on the couch, Burnie and Jack leaning against each other while Geoff curled up against the arm of the couch. Ray was curled up on Ryan’s lap, Ryan’s arm wrapped tightly around him.

They woke up late the next day and Ray decided that he should probably go to his dorm and reassure Michael that he had a roommate. “Have to make sure they didn’t have sex on my bed.” Ray joked as he gathered his things.

Ryan snorted and offered to walk Ray back but the younger man told him that he would be fine. So Ryan placed his jacket on Ray’s shoulder and didn’t give him room to argue. It meant that Ray would come back at some point and it was cold so Ray would be warm.

All four of them were out of sorts the next day without Ray being there. Geoff asked the couch multiple times if it was alright for him to sit on it. Burnie complained about no one laughing at his jokes because that really was Ray’s job and Jack just seemed confused when Ray wasn’t on the couch.

Ryan missed having Ray around. They all made sure to talk to Ray every time they saw him. Ryan would text Ray and ask him to join them for diner which the younger student often accepted. Geoff once dragged Ray into the dorm for a game night. He had apparently appeared at the younger student’s door and just dragged him along.

Ray didn’t mind. He would appear randomly at their door as well. They had movie nights every Friday which ended with Ray sitting in Ryan’s lap every time. It wasn’t even a question anymore, Ray’s seat was either the corner of the couch or Ryan’s lap.

Ray and Ryan had gotten closer as well. They texted each other at all hours and met up for what Burnie declared were lunch dates. Twice Jack woke up in the morning to find Ray and Ryan cuddling on the couch. Ryan would be too tired after a long night to get into his bed and just slept with Ray on top of him.

Ryan got the door when there was a quiet knock on it. Jack glanced at the door and smiled when Ray appeared behind the door. Ray smiled sheepishly at Ryan. “I got back to my room and Michael handed me my shit and then shut the door.” He said, his backpack over his shoulder and a computer bag in his hand. “Lindsay and Gavin are over.”

Ryan snorted and shook his head, letting Ray in. “Well, welcome home then.” He joked with a smile. Ray had been spending more time in their dorm anyway.

Jack laughed and waved at Ray before returning to his work. Ray snorted, waving back, before sitting on the couch. “No one had sex on it, right?”

“Geoff still asks it if it’s alright to sit on it.” Jack laughed as Ryan chuckled. “You’re good.”

“I wasn’t talking about Geoff.” Ray gave Jack a shit eating grin, dodging the pillow thrown at him. “Where’s Burnie?” He laughed, dodging another pillow.

Ryan laughed and joined Ray on the couch. Ray leaned against him as he worked on a paper. Ryan had his text book in his lap, taking Ray’s computer to edit his paper when the younger student asked.

Ray slept on the couch and in the next morning he and Ryan went to the Café for breakfast. They were talking about whatever came to mind when Ray froze up and looked behind him. Ryan frowned. “Something wrong Ray?” He asked.

“God fucking damn it.” Ray groaned, turning back around and putting his head in his hands. Ryan frowned and looked behind Ray, a white cloud floating behind him.

“Another magnet already, huh?” Ryan sighed, gently rubbing Ray’s head. “Should we call Barbra again?”

Ray sighed and shook his head. His eyes glazed over for a second then he focused on Ryan again. “No, she’s a decent one.” He sighed. “Damnit, I just got rid of a magnet.”

Ryan sighed and gently rubbed Ray’s back gently. The younger students back was covered in scars now and still caused him some pain. “Well, breaks soon.” He offered.

Ray sighed and smiled at Ryan. “You have a good point.” He said, sitting upright again. “How bad can a little ghost girl get?”

Apparently they could get very bad. The ghost tortured Ray endlessly at night, keeping him from sleeping. Ryan and Jack just got used to Ray appearing at their door at strange hours before collapsing on their couch.

The girl never got angry or more powerful, just poked and prodded at Ray’s mind until there was no possible way for him to sleep. Ryan had entered the Café lounge to find a security officer and Ray’s history professor talking over Ray who was passed out on the floor.

Ryan frowned and ran over to them. “What happened?” He asked the professor who nodded politely to him.

“Ray and I were talking about his project and he just passed out.” The professor frowned, looking at Ray who was propped up against the wall. Ryan could see the ghost floating around Ray, trying to wake him up although he wasn’t responding.

“We need to take him to health services.” The security officer frowned. “They said it could be anything unless they check.”

“It’s sleep deprivation.” Ryan covered for Ray, walking over to the younger student and picking him up bridal style. The ghost immediately backed off, floating around them. “I can take him to health services.”

The officer frowned and they said their goodbyes to the professor. Ryan promised to tell him if Ray was alright later. He carried Ray to the health services office with the officer following close behind to make sure they went.

The nurses cleared that Ray was just suffering from sleep deprivation and allowed Ryan to take him back to his dorm. Ryan kicked on his door when he got to his room, sliding into the room sideways when Jack opened the door.

“What happened?” Jack frowned, watching as Ryan laid Ray on their couch.

Burnie sat up from Jack’s bad and frowned. “Did he finally pass out?” He asked light heartedly but he paled when Ryan nodded at him.

“Apparently he was walking with his professor and just passed out.” Ryan said, setting his and Ray’s bags on the ground next to the couch. “Looks like he’s staying with us again.”

“He’ll fight that.” Jack sighed, sitting on his bed again. “But I’d rather he stay here then pass out again.”

“He’s lucky he wasn’t operating a car or something.” Burnie frowned although they all knew that Ray couldn’t drive. “Or walking in front of one.”

Ryan flinched and Jack smacked Burnie on the shoulder. “Don’t say shit like that.” Jack scolded, settling back down to do homework.

Burnie shrugged guiltily before doing the same. Ryan frowned at his friends before sitting on the edge of the couch. He gently carded his fingers through Ray’s hair, pulling out his phone and texted Michael. Since Ray had become friends with all of them, Michael, Gavin, and Lindsay had come over on a few occasions and they had massive game nights. They were interesting characters but Ryan felt bad that Ray had to deal with them sometimes.

Ryan had moved to his desk to do work when Michael arrived with a bag of Ray’s things. Ryan smiled sheepishly at Michael and let him into the room. “He really passed the fuck out huh?” Michael frowned, walking over to Ray. “Fuck. I knew he wasn’t getting sleep but I didn’t think it was that bad.”

Ryan frowned and shook his head. “Well, that’s the reason he’s staying here for a while.” He told Michael, setting the bag next to Ray’s backpack. “Thanks for bring his stuff.”

“Thanks for keeping an eye on him.” Michael shot back with an awkward smile. He wasn’t a bad friend, just a strange one.

Michael talked with Burnie and Jack for a bit before leaving. Ray didn’t wake up at all, not even to go to the bathroom which worried Ryan. Each of them tried their hand at waking Ray up to eat or drink but the younger student was out cold.

They eventually gave up and just let him sleep. He probably needed it. Ryan fell asleep sitting in front of the couch reading. He was worried that Ray would wake up in the middle of the night and freak out so he wanted to be there to calm him down.

Ray didn’t wake up until noon the next day. He sat up slowly, blinking at Ryan confused. “Where?” He slurred, frowning.

Ryan frowned and went over to Ray, rubbing his back. “You’re in my room. You passed out and I brought you here.” He said handing Ray a bottle of water. “You should eat and drink something and go back to sleep.”

Ray leaned into Ryan and nodded slowly. He took sips from the bottle and nibbled at the crackers Ryan gave him before falling sleep leaning against him. Ryan chuckled and took the bottle and half eaten cracker out of his hands before laying him down again.

Ray woke up again around diner time and was conscious enough to go with them to the cafeteria. He didn’t question the fact that his things were already in Ryan’s room, he just happily accepted the fact that he was staying with them until break.

Ray eventually got caught up on his sleep and returned to a normal sleeping schedule. He looked sick for the most part but at least he wasn’t passing out. Ryan was sitting on the couch, Ray curled up in his lap sleeping when someone finally said what needed to be said.

“Ryan, just ask him out already.” Jack groaned, coming in from Burnie’s and Geoff’s room. “You’re basically dating already.”

Ryan frowned and looked down at Ray. His arm was loosely wrapped around the younger student and Ray was snuggled into this chest. “I- yeah, I know.” Ryan sighed. “I kind of forgot about that part.”

Jack snorted and rolled his eyes. Ryan barely used his bed anymore. He slept on the couch holding Ray and making sure he got sleep. More often than not, Ray would choose to sit as close as possible to Ryan or just plainly in Ryan’s lap. They went on dates and sometimes held hands. The only thing they hadn’t done was kiss and discuss what they were to each other. Both of those should probably happen before break.

Jack herded Geoff and Burnie out of the dorm later that day, giving Ryan a stern look. Ray was reading his text book so he missed the gaze but Ryan didn’t. He took a deep breath and looked at Ray. Better now than never. “Ray.” He said slowly.

Ray looked up at Ryan and smiled at him. “Yeah Rye?” He asked, closing his book but using his finger to mark his page.

“So we’re really close and I really enjoy having you around.” Ryan started, choosing his words carefully because he did _not_ want to mess this up. “I want to official ask if you will be my boyfriend.”

Ray stared at Ryan with wide eyes before laughing. “Yeah, I guess that’s the only thing we didn’t do, huh?” He set his book aside and moved over to Ryan. “I would love to be your boyfriend.”

Ryan smiled and wrapped his arms around Ray and pulled him into his lap. “That’s not the only thing we haven’t done yet.” He smile, kissing Ray gently.

Ray made a surprised noise but happy kissed back. He wrapped his arms around Ryan’s shoulders. They pulled apart and smiled at each other. “I do need to tell you something.” Ray said awkwardly.

Ryan raised an eyebrow and nodded. “What’s up?” He asked, rubbing Ray’s sides to sooth his nerves.

“I’m asexual.” Ray said, smiling sheepishly. “I have no interest in sex I don’t think I’ve ever even masturbated.”

Ryan stared at Ray then shrugged. “Okay.” He smiled, knowing that must have taken some courage to admit. “I’m just happy having you around Ray.”

Ray smiled brightly at Ryan and hugged him tightly. “Thank you.” He sighed and Ryan wondered how many people just called Ray broken.

“Of course.” Ryan smiled, holding him tightly. He kissed Ray’s head and rubbed his side. “We should go on an official date.”

Ray laughed. “Seriously? We’ve been a lot of dates.” He smiled at Ryan. “I’m happy to count those.”

Ryan laughed and kissed Ray’s cheek. “Well yes, but I want to spoil you a bit.” He smiled.

“You always spoil me.” Ray smiled, kissing Ryan’s cheek back. “It’s your turn.”

“Oh?” Ryan smiled curiously. “What do you have in mind?”

“It’s a surprise.” Ray smiled mischievously. “Doing anything tomorrow?”

“Anything you want.” Ryan shook his head and pulled Ray closer. “As long as it’s not illegal.”

“No promises.” Ray laughed, grabbing his book again and snuggling into Ryan.

Jack pulled Burnie and Geoff in later that night. Jack was the only one sober, Geoff collapsed on the couch next to Ray and Ryan while Burnie just clung to Jack giggling.

“Are you two dicks finally dating?” Geoff slurred, looking over Ray and Ryan. Ray was curled up in Ryan’s lap like he always was.

Ryan chuckled and nodded. “Yes we’re finally dating.” He smiled, watching Jack try and detach himself from Burnie.

“About time.” Jack laughed, ending up just curling up on his bed with Burnie who refused to let go of him.

Ray smiled at Jack and Burnie. “Your turn.” He laughed when Jack blushed and Burnie just pulled him closer, fast asleep.

Geoff snorted and passed out on the couch so Ryan pulled Ray onto his bed and they laid on the top bunk as the others fell asleep. Ryan drew circles into Ray’s shoulder as the younger student laid on his chest. Nothing had really changed, they just had a title.

Ray took Ryan to a rose themed restaurant the next day for diner. The owner was ecstatic to see them, chatting happily with Ray as they were seated. The owner was a sweet old man who buzzed around them for a bit before going off to do his job.

“He’s the grandfather I never had.” Ray explained with an amused smile. “This is my favorite restaurant though.”

Ryan chuckled and nodded, looking around. “It’s an interesting theme.” He said, shaking his head when he saw the owner watching them with interest.

Ray shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “I like roses okay?” He laughed, not even bothering with the menu. He came to the restaurant enough to know what exactly was on the menu.

Ryan glanced over the meals and settled on whatever sounded the best. They talked while they waited for their food, fingers intertwined as their hands rested on the table. They continued to talk as they ate. They never ran out of things to talk about, there was always something to discuss. Although the silence was never awkward. It was always a comfortable relaxed silence that they both needed sometimes.

They walked around town for the rest of the evening. They talked or walked in comfortable silence. They started out holding hands but as the evening went on Ryan’s arm was wrapped around Ray’s waist and they were keeping each other warm in the cold air. Winter break was in a week so Ryan made some last minute plans.

He shifted his plane ride to Georgia and drove Ray home to New York. He stayed with their family for a week before finally going home. Ray was relieved to tell Ryan that the shadow man had eaten the ghost girl. They skyped and texted the entire break and neither of them could wait to get back to the college and see each other.

* * *

 

Ryan beat his other roommates back to their room at the end of the break. He slowly unpacked and waited for his phone to ring. He smiled when his phone did ring and Ray was on the other end. “I here!” Ray laughed, sounding out of breath.

“Need any help?” Ryan smiled, chuckling. “I got in a couple of hours ago.” He searched around his luggage for a second before pulling out the Christmas gift that he had gotten Ray. They had agreed that they didn’t need to get each other anything because everything was so short notice but Ryan had found some games that Ray had mentioned wanting and got them when he saw them. As far as he knew, Ray still didn’t have them.

“No I’m good. Once I’m done, can I come over?” Ray asked.

“Of course.” Ryan laughed, setting the present next to the bouquet of roses that his mother insisted that they get for Ray. “I have something to give you anyway.”

Ray chuckled and there was a thud and yelling in the background. “I have something to give you too. See you in a bit.”

“See you soon.” Ryan smiled, hanging up and continuing to unpack. Before Ray could come, Burnie returned to the dorm and Ryan helped his friend hull some of his things into his room. Just as he finished, Ray appeared in their door way and smiled at Ryan. He was holding a big box that was poorly wrapped in orange wrapping paper.

“Hey rose.” Ryan smiled, pecking Ray on the lips. He had started calling Ray ‘rose’ since they went to the restaurant. The name suited Ray nearly too well.

Ray smiled and kissed Ryan back before setting the box down. “Hey Rye. How was the plane ride?”

“Hell.” Ryan sighed. He hated planes. They were cramped and there were too many people. “How was the drive?”

“I slept the entire ride, so pretty good.” Ray laughed, nudging the box toward Ryan with his foot. “Open it.”

Ryan laughed and grabbed Ray’s gifts and held them out to him. “You first.” He smiled.

Ray laughed, taking the gift and the bouquet and smiling brightly at the flowers. “You’re mom?” He asked Ryan nodding toward the roses.

Ryan chuckled and nodded. “She insisted.” He smiled, picking up the box and taking it to the couch. “What is this?”

“Open it!” Ray laughed, following Ryan to the couch and sitting next to him. “That’s the reason it’s wrapped.”

Ryan snorted and shook his head. Ryan tore the orange paper and pulled at the tapped together box. He eventually gave up and just cut the tape with the knife that he wasn’t supposed to have. Ray watched, his own gift in his lap, laughing at Ryan’s struggles and offering help where he could.

Ryan eventually opened the box and stared blankly at what was inside. Ryan had mentioned wanting to start making short skits with Burnie, Geoff, and Jack. They had plenty of good ideas, just no equipment to do it with. Ryan stared at a beginner’s film camera with everything he would need to actually film a movie. There was even a card with the ID number for a decent video editor.

Ryan looked at Ray who just smiled sheepishly at him. “I have a lot of game money.” Ray chuckled, fiddling with the sleeve of his jacket. “So I thought I might as well use some of it for something worthwhile.”

Ryan nearly tackled Ray with a hug, kissing him deeply. Ray laughed while he could, kissing Ryan back and tangling his fingers in Ryan’s hair. “Not on the couch!” Jack groaned halfheartedly since he knew that Ray was asexual.

They separated and looked at the bearded man standing in the door way, weighed down by his bags. Ray blushed bright red and hide his face in Ryan’s chest while Ryan blushed a light pink and laughed awkwardly. “Sorry Jack.” Ryan said. “Need any help?”

Jack smiled at them, jumping when Burnie burst into their room with a bright smile. “Jack!” Burnie said happily, hugging the other student tightly, nearly knocking them over.

Ryan laughed, turning back to Ray since they had lost Jack for a bit. “Your turn.” He smiled at Ray, tapping the gift still in the younger students lap.

Ray smiled and opened the present. He made an adorable noise upon seeing the games he had given up getting to get Ryan’s gift and hugged Ryan tightly. Burnie made a joke about the couch getting dirty so soon and they parted, helping Jack bring his luggage up to the room. Ryan happily showed off his new camera to Burnie who was a bit green about it.

Ray just smiled, happy with the games and happy that Ryan was so ecstatic about his gift. Jack just shook his head at all of them. Geoff arrived later in the day, having stopped at Griffon’s house before coming to the campus. Once they were all unpacked, Ray left to help Michael lug his stuff to their room. The rest of them collapsed on the couch and caught up.

Ray rejoined them and curled up on Ryan’s lap. They were missing being close to each other over break. Griffon actually joined them when Geoff asked her and she and Ray were formally introduced. They had heard plenty about each other but had never actually met. Ray decided that Griffon was just an awesome badass which countered Geoff’s laziness perfectly.

They talked until they knew that they should probably go to sleep before school started up in the morning. Ryan walked Ray back to his dorm, sharing a kiss with him before heading back to his room. As he walked, he noticed a large number of ghosts meandering around the quad and frowned. They hadn’t been there when they had walked through earlier.

Shaking his head, Ryan sent Ray a text, warning him to be careful about walking through the quad and hurried to his room. The next morning Ryan counted fifteen ghosts in the quad as he walked to class. This was strange. Why were there suddenly so many?

In the middle of his first class of the new semester, his phone buzzed with a message that he chose to ignore until the class ended. Once the professor dismissed them Ryan checked his phone and frowned. He quickly dialed Ray’s number and held the phone to his ear as he walked out of the classroom.

“Rye?” Ray sound exhausted and sick. “Did I text you in class?”

“Yeah, but that’s fine.” Ryan frowned, jogging down the stairs and rushing out the door. “What did you mean?”

“They’re all right outside the dorm.” Ray sighed. “They didn’t attach themselves to me but they still ate at my energy.”

Ryan frowned heading for the freshmen dorms. Ray had texted him telling him that there were at least twenty ghosts in front of the freshmen dorm when he went to leave for class that morning. Ray took the side exit but the ghosts didn’t seem interesting in him. “They’re just standing there?” He asked, spotting the building as he walked.

“Well, they’re staring at the window just above the door.” Ray sighed. “I’m in front of the building, I’m too tired to try and go in.”

Ryan spotted Ray and waved at him. “I see you, I’ll be over in a second.” He said before hanging up and jogging over to Ray.

The younger student smiled tiredly at Ryan as he approached and gestured vaguely at the dorm building. “See them?” He asked Ryan, returning his hug.

Ryan kept his arm around Ray and looked at the front door. What looked like a dense fog was hovering right in front of the dorms. “I see them.” He sighed. “There weren’t any in the quad that I saw.”

“They’re all here.” Ray sighed, leaning into Ryan. “I have no idea why.”

“Maybe someone else attracts them?” Ryan suggested, watching another student walk right through the fog, completely unfazed.

Ray shook his head. “I don’t know but I need to get in there.” He sighed, rubbing his head. “My class is in an hour and I need to have my computer for it apparently.”

Ryan nodded and pulled Ray closer. They walked through the mist, the ghosts parting for them because of Ryan. Ray sighed relieved and they entered the building. Ray lived on the first floor and the ghosts had been looking at a second floor window, which meant that whatever they were after was on the second floor and away from Ray. As Ryan waited for Ray in the doorway to his room, Ryan stared at the stairs to the second floor.

“Hey Ray.” Ryan frowned, looking at Ray. “I’m going to check something real quick.”

Ray looked at Ryan for a second before shoving his computer in his pack and closing the door to his room. “Want to see if there’s something weird going on upstairs?” He asked.

Ryan nodded and led the way to the stairs. They poked their heads down the second floor hallway and both tensed. The hallway was covered in a dense fog that weighed on their shoulders. “Well fuck.” Ray mumbled, shifting uncomfortably. “I can’t make out a particular ghost.”

“It looks like a fog.” Ryan agreed, frowning. “What the hell happened?”

“I’m not going in there to find out.” Ray frowned, eyes focusing on a certain part of the fog. “That one has pink eyes.”

Ryan frowned, moving out of the way for a student going to the third floor and giving them strange looks. “Well that’s not good.”

“A lot of them have pink eyes.” Ray frowned, reaching out for one of the clouds that were drifting away from the fog. When his hand touched the cloud it gravitated toward him and circled Ray, staying away from Ryan.

“What did you just do?” Ryan asked as he followed Ray down the stairs.

Ray didn’t say anything for a moment, eyes looking somewhere far away. “This is Anne.” He said, focusing on Ryan. “She’s eight.”

Ryan watched the ghost and frowned. “Okay, why did you attract a ghost to you?” He asked, worried.

Ray smiled gently, eyes dazed. “She won’t bother me, her eyes are really white.” He reassured Ryan although that didn’t make him feel any better. “Someone summoned them.”

“Summoned them?” Ryan asked, taking Ray’s hand and intertwining their fingers as they walked out of the dorm and toward the AC. “So many?”

“Accident.” Ray said after a moment of listening to Anne. He scowled. “They were using an Ouija board incorrectly and attracted every ghost for at least two miles.”

Ryan groaned and rubbed his eyes. “That’s really not good.” He sighed. “They’re lucky that they didn’t summon a demon.”

“None of them were strong enough for that.” Ray sighed, his free hand curling around air, like he was holding someone’s hand. The ghost floated around his hand and Ryan smiled gently, trying to picture a little girl holding Ray’s hand. “Until I pulled Anne away, none of them could escape.”

Ryan frowned, squeezing Ray’s hand. “Trapped ghosts are angry ghosts.” He sighed. “Maybe we should have Burnie call Barbra.”

“They’ll follow those who attracted them.” Ray tilted his head towards Anne, furrowing his brow as though he was struggling to hear her. “There were four people who did it that means that mass of ghosts is split between the four of them.”

Ryan shook his head and frowned. “Won’t that be a huge drain on their energy?” He asked, worried about that many ghosts roaming the campus.

“They’ll feed on them until there’s not enough energy to feed all of them.” Ray sighed, eyes focused again. “They’ll slowly drift away from them, but they’ll be confined to the campus.”

“Confined to the campus?” Ryan’s frown deepened. “That’s a lot of ghosts to attach themselves to random students.”

Ray nodded. “They’ll be trapped here by the sheer amount of energy here.” Ray explained, squeezing Ryan’s hand in nerves. “There’s enough just floating around to keep them here but they’ll attach to people. Some of them are already really angry.”

Ryan frowned and shook his head. He pulled out his phone and shot his floor mates a group text. “I’ll have Burnie call Barbra and we’ll try and figure out what to do tomorrow.”

Ray nodded and sighed. He looked better the further away from the freshmen dorms that they got but he looked nervous and a bit scared. Ryan smiled gently and pulled Ray aside and kissed him lightly. “It’ll be alright rose.” He reassured Ray, wrapping his arms around him and holding him close.

Ray smiled, kissing Ryan back. “I know.” He sighed, resting his head on Ryan’s chest. “It’s just nerve wracking having that many ghosts around.”

“You should stay with us again.” Ryan said, taking Ray’s hand and walking toward the AC again since they both had class soon.

Ray laughed and followed, still holding Anne’s hand as well. “I basically live with you guys anymore!”

“Nothing wrong with that.” Ryan smiled holding the door to the Academic building open for Ray. “We all like having you around.”

Ray smiled and pecked Ryan on the lips before rushing up the stairs. “See you later then!” He called over his shoulder.

Ryan smiled and went to his two remaining classes. When he returned to his room, the seals were whipped off of his white board and he frowned. Someone must have brushed up against them or something. When he unlocked the door, Ray was sitting on the couch already, Jack laying in his bed.

“So she’s how old?” Jack asked, a book on his chest.

“Well, she was eight in sixteen forty so really fucking old.” Ray laughed smiling at Ryan when he entered the room. Anne floated as close to Ryan as she could get and although Ryan couldn’t see it, he knew that she was waving at him.

Chuckling, Ryan waved back, deciding against remaking the seals, and wondering over to his desk. “She’s about three hundred and seventy five years old.” He calculated, setting his bag down next to his desk.

“Holy shit.” Jack laughed, looking in Anne’s general direction. The ghost was making herself known to all of them. “She’s really fucking old.”

Ray laughed and nodded. “She was killed by her father.” He said, patting the ghosts head when she settled next to him on the couch. “Knife to the heart, but she forgave him.”

“You have to wonder why they stick around.” Jack marveled, shaking his head.

Ryan chuckled and kissed Ray’s head before sitting down on his other side. He smiled when Ray climbed into his lap. He wrapped his arms around Ray and held him tightly. “She has been around an impressive amount of time.” He chuckled, watching the cloud float around them. “She hasn’t caused you any trouble?”

“Nope.” Ray smiled with a content sigh. “She’s talkative but that’s about it.”

Ryan nodded and sat back. The first day of the semester was always the most laid back so they could get away without doing homework. “Ray tell you what’s going on?” Ryan asked Jack, glancing back at his roommate.

“Yeah, fucking sucks.” Jack sat up and frowned. “Who they hell would be stupid enough to do that shit?”

“Freshmen girls.” Ray snorted, looking at Jack from over Ryan’s shoulder. “They’ll trap a horde of ghosts with us at this rate.”

“As long as they don’t do it again, they should stay relatively calm.” Ryan sighed, shaking his head. “For now at least.”

“They said that they would do it again tonight.” Ray said suddenly, eyes glazed over. “Anne will warn us when they are.”

“We should do something tonight then.” Jack frowned. “I haven’t heard from Burnie yet but hopefully he was able to contact Barb.”

Ryan frowned and nodded. “Does Anne know who the girls are?” He asked Ray.

Ray’s eyes went completely out of focus and he leaned against Ryan more. Anne stopped moving entirely and drifted as close to Ray as she could with Ryan holding him. “She doesn’t know but they’re following a wiki page that they found online.” Ray said dreamily, he seemed to be seeing what Anne had seen when she was summoned by the girls. Jack came over and leaned over the back of the couch to look at Ray with a worried frown. “They will use the board every night at the witching hour for a week.”

“That sounds stupid as hell.” Jack frowned. “What’s the point?”

“They’re hoping to-“ Ray frowned and squirmed in Ryan’s arms. “To- I can’t make that out.”

Ryan frowned and rubbed Ray’s back to try and relax him. Anne started to move again and Ray’s eyes came into focus. “Are you alright?” He asked Ray.

Ray nodded and slid out of Ryan’s lap and grabbed his computer. “Anne’s vision became worse and worse the more ghosts that showed up.” He explained, opening Google and typing quickly into the search bar. “It’s one of those fake, do this stupid things this number of times and something good will happen.”

“So it was something stupid.” Jack sighed, coming around the couch to sit next to Ray. He and Ryan looked over the younger students shoulder as he pulled up a wiki page.

“This is it.” Ray sighed, shaking his head. “Talk to a different spirit every night for a week and get your wish on the final night.”

Ryan rolled his eyes and groaned. He rubbed his face and leaned back against the couch. “Why are people so stupid?”

“Best way of achieving this is to use an Ouija board.” Jack read, scanning the paragraph under the sentence. “I don’t really know anything about this shit, but that seems like the complete wrong way to do this.”

“It is.” Ray sighed. “What doing this will do is open up a flood gate. Ghosts will poor in but can’t get back out.”

Ryan sighed and watched Anne float around them. “I don’t think Barb can handle this on her own.”

“Maybe her dad can help.” Jack suggested. “He’s a priest right?”

“It would take a lot to get rid of all of these ghosts.” Ray frowned, setting his computer aside. “There might be a way to open the flood gates the other way and let the ghosts free though.”

“Can’t you bring shadow man here and he can yet them all?” Jack asked.

Ray snorted and leaned against Ryan. “I wish.” He sighed, smiling at Anne. “Granted, I don’t really want him to eat Anne.”

Jack frowned and nodded. He leaned back and folded his arms. “Fair point.” He sighed.

They discussed what to do, Googling different solutions to the problem. They came up with nothing useful as far as they could tell. By the time Geoff and Burnie joined them and were caught up with what was going on, they had no ideas for a solution.

“Barb’s out of town.” Burnie sighed, hanging up phone. “She did ask her dad who basically said that we’re screwed.”

“Well that’s helpful.” Geoff snorted, folding his arms. “Do we know anyone else who could exorcise ghosts?”

“You exorcise demons.” Ray snorted, shaking his head. “You send ghosts on or something.”

“I think our first priority is to stop those girls from using the board again.” Ryan interjected.

“That’s a good point, it’ll just make the ghosts angry won’t it?” Jack asked, unfolding his arms and leaning forward. “Do we know which room they’re in?”

“Two forty?” Ray said, frowning. “I think that’s the room number anyway.”

“You think?” Geoff frowned. “Even if we knew the room, how are we going to stop them? We can’t just show up at three in the morning and casually knock on their door.”

“You’re done that enough times to me.” Ray snorted, trying to focus on the numbers Anne was showing him. His head was starting to spin. “Okay, yeah. It’s two forty.”

Ryan rubbed Ray’s back with a worried frown. The younger student was starting to look pale. “You’re a different story.” Jack sighed, folding his arms again. “How are we going to stop them?”

“Ray could go up there and complain about the noise?” Burnie shrugged. “They live above him don’t they?”

“Close enough to count.” Ray shrugged, leaning into Ryan’s hand.

“No way.” Ryan frowned. “You were drained just walking through ten of them. That’s an entire floor of ghosts.”

“Why don’t you go with him then?” Geoff sighed. “That’ll keep them away long enough for you to stop them.”

“What do you want them to do? Complain about the noise and just walk into the room?” Jack frowned. “They’ll only stop them for a moment.”

“Ask to join!” Burnie smiled at Ray and Ryan. “Then fuck them up.”

“I think that’ll just make the problem worse.” Ryan frowned, flinching when Ray leaned heavily against him. “Ray?” He asked worriedly, holding Ray gently. The younger student was holding his head in pain.

“Anne can grab a piece of the board.” Ray groaned. Jack frowned and jumped up to get a bottle of Advil. “We just need to distract them for long enough.”

Ryan pressed Ray’s water bottle into his hand. Ray took the bottle and the Advil when Jack held it out to him. “Can she actually do that?” Jack asked, sitting down again.

“She seems strong enough.” Geoff shrugged, Anne floating around him. “Especially if she’s this self-aware.”

Burnie nodded and smiled at them. “So it’s a plan then.” He chuckled. “We’ll tag along and once you have the piece, we’ll come back here.”

“Why do we have to come along?” Geoff whined. “We aren’t doing anything.”

“Moral support?” Burnie shrugged. “I just want to see how this goes.”

“Plus if Ray collapses we can be there to help him.” Jack added, shaking his head. “He might need immediate help.”

Ryan frowned, liking this plan less and less. Ray was still leaning against him although he looked better after he took the Advil but he was still shaking a bit. “Alright.” He sighed, wrapping his arm around Ray.

Ray smiled up at him, his eyes were sunken into his head a bit and his skin was pale. Ryan pulled him into his lap and held him tightly. “No more talking with Anne for now.” He sighed as the others talked about other things.

Ray nodded, leaning against Ryan. “Okay.” He said sleepily. Ryan soothed Ray into sleeping, cradling him to his chest. He listened to the others talk absentmindedly. His eyes were focused on Anne who floated aimlessly around the room. She picked up objects of increasing size like she was practicing.

By two thirty, Ray was awake and feeling much better. They made the quick walk over to the freshmen dorms. They followed Ray into the building, Ryan keeping the ghosts off of them. They had intended on staying in Ray’s room until it was time for them to stop the girls but there was a sock on Ray’s doorknob and a lot of noises coming from his room.

They stared blankly at Ray’s door for a long moment before deciding that it was time for the plan anyway. Jack, Burnie, and Geoff, who looked sick to his stomach at the sheer mass of ghosts, stayed in the stairwell, as Ray and Ryan wondered the hallway toward the right room.

Ray was wearing Ryan’s jacket and Ryan’s arm was wrapped around him but he still looked drained once they made it to the door. Ryan hoped that this was quick and knocked on the door.

A bouncy girl with long brown hair and blue eyes opened the door and smiled awkwardly at them. “Are we being too loud?” She asked because yeah, they actually were.

“Just a bit.” Ray smiled sheepishly at her and Ryan let him handle this. He tried to think of other things to distract them with. He glanced into the room behind her. Three other girls were around the board. He watched as Anne floated into the room and went for the board. For some reason, he could make her out despite the fog of ghosts around them.

“I’m sorry about that.” The girl said, shifting from foot to foot. “We’ll keep it down, I promise.”

“You were loud yesterday too.” Ray pointed out. “I think a few guys asked then too.”

The girl sighed and Ryan watched with bated breath as Anne picked up the identifier part of the board. “I know, I’m really sorry.” She told Ray, glancing at Ryan then back at Ray. “We’ll keep it down from now on.”

“Oh my god!” One of the girls in the room, a blond, shrieked, pointing at the floating identifier.

“God damn it.” Ray groaned. He slid into the room, grabbed the piece and ran back out and down the hall.

Ryan followed closely behind him, trying to keep up to prevent the ghosts from surrounding Ray. “Hey!” The girl called after them but they hit the stairs and all five of them scrambled down and out of the dorm.

Ryan had to pick Ray up before he collapsed outside the dorm. Anne floated quickly around them and Geoff looked like he was going to puke. “What the hell happened?” Jack asked as he herded all of them back toward their dorm.

“Fuck.” Burnie hissed, slinging Geoff’s arm around his shoulders and helped the other student walk.

“I’m going to puke.” Geoff gasped, managing to make it to a trashcan before emptying his stomach.

Even Ryan felt a little sick as he carried Ray bridal style. Ray was shaking in his arms and looked completely drained. “They’re not happy.” Ryan sighed as Burnie and Jack gently helped Geoff to walk.

“What do you mean that they’re not happy?” Jack asked. “What happened to Ray and Geoff?”

“The ghosts were eating us alive.” Geoff spat bile onto the ground as he leaned against his friends. “You okay Ryan?”

“I feel shitty but I’ll be alright.” Ryan sighed, holding Ray tighter.

“Rye.” Ray rasped, struggling in his arms. Ryan quickly brought Ray to a trashcan and rubbed his shoulders as he puked as well. “Fuck.”

“We should get back to the room.” Burnie frowned, taking the board piece from Ray. “So you taking the piece pissed the ghosts off?”

Ryan gently picked Ray up again and nodded. “Yeah, but they can’t follow us.”

“So in our effort to not piss off the ghosts, we pissed them off?” Jack groaned, holding the door to their building open for them.

“Not quiet.” Ray said weakly. “They were angry we took it because they were about to start. They’re calm now.”

“Doesn’t stop the fact that they were eating us alive!” Geoff spat with no real bite. He was just worried about the rest of them getting hurt because of this.

“Let’s just calm down.” Jack sighed, opening the door to his room for them and helping Burnie take Geoff to his room. “We’ll worry about it in the morning.”

Ryan slept on the couch with Ray that night, a trashcan close by.

* * *

 

All of them drifted through their days, glad that they didn’t have that many actual classes. The board piece stayed in Ryan’s room on his desk.

Ryan was walking through the Café lounge on his way back to the dorm from class. He had talked to one of his professors that morning about what was going on. She had magnet ghosts as well but had Geoff’s affliction with them. She had admitted to knowing that there was a change in the campus and when she went to the freshmen dorms after getting Ryan’s email, she agreed that it was a huge problem.

She had brought up a good point that Ryan hadn’t considered. If the ghosts stayed around for too long they would start eating off the energy of the students living in the dorms. That would cause a lot of health problems for those students. Not to mention if the spirits got angry, they would start to attack the living. Now that the girls couldn’t complete their stupid goal, they had temporally halted the spirits rampage but it was only a matter of time before they got angry.

Ryan sighed as he walked. He didn’t want anyone going near that building now but they couldn’t displace an entire building of students. His professor said that she would ask some professionals that she knew but how long would it be until they got to them?

“You!” A shrill voice accused, startling Ryan. He frowned and looked around. Behind him was the girl who answered the door when they had knocked that night.

She was charging right at Ryan and he had no idea what to do. When his brain caught up with what was going on, the girl was almost to Ryan. So Ryan did the only thing that he could think of. He turned and ran out of the building.

He glanced behind him and groaned when the girl was chasing after him. Instead of stopping, he ran straight to his dorm. She caught him before he could start up the stairs, grabbing him by his jacket.

Ryan stumbled and caught himself on the railing. “Who the hell are you?” The girl demanded, panting. She glared at Ryan, hands on her hips. “Why did you take our indicator? Where’s that friend of yours?”

Ryan sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He leaned against the railing. “Listen, that was for your own good.” He said, trying to escape again.

The girl just followed him up the stairs. “What do you mean?” She insisted. “I don’t even know who you are!”

Ryan sighed and walked to his door. He stopped walking when he say Anne floating outside the room. The girl slammed into his back, still ranting. “Anne?” Ryan said gently, ignoring the girl screeching at him. “What’s wrong?”

Anne shook where she floated then went into the room. Ryan frowned and rushed forward and threw the door open. Ray was curled into a ball on the couch sobbing softly. He was pulling at his hair and the trashcan wrecked of vomit.

“Ray?” Ryan rushed to the younger student’s side, the girl following him into the room, still talking. “Shut up!” He snapped at her, pulling Ray into his arms. Anne floated panicky  around the room and Ryan felt like she was trying to tell him something.

Ray gasped and panted. He struggled in Ryan’s arms. “Ray, rose. It’s me.” Ryan soothed, running his fingers through Ray’s hair as the girl huffed at him and sat in his desk chair. Ray stopped struggling and clung to Ryan instead.

Ryan jumped when the girl screamed and Ray whimpered at the noise. He glared at her but was met with a piece of paper floating in front of him. ‘He went to his room alone. The ghosts were covering the entire building. He managed to get here before having a panic attack.’ Was written poorly across the page.

Ryan nodded slowly. “Thank you Anne.” He sighed before kissing Ray’s head and rocking slowly. He was extremely glad that they left their door open for Ray. “Ray, breathe to my count, alright?”

Ray nodded slowly and breathed slowly as Ryan counted. The girl watched them with confusion and fear. Anne just floated panicked around the room. When Ray was calm enough for Ryan to stop counting, he pulled out his phone and texted Geoff, Burnie, and Jack and told them what was going on.

They sat in silence except for Ray’s heavy breathing. Ryan glanced at his desk realizing that the girl could take the piece back but it wasn’t where he left it. “Anne?” He said tiredly, leaning back against the couch.

“Who the hell are you talking to?” The girl snapped, folding her arms. “Look, I just want our indicator back.”

Ryan did not want to deal with this right now. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” He sneered at her as Anne grabbed another paper from his desk and started writing on it.

“I don’t even know who you are!” The girl huffed. “Where is the indicator?” She squealed when Anne floated the paper over to Ryan.

Ryan gave a relieved sigh when the paper read that the piece was hidden in his drawers. “I don’t know.” He told the girl as the paper floated to the floor. “Anne hid it.”

“Who’s Anne?!” The girl groaned.

Ryan opened his mouth to answer but his door burst open and Geoff and Burnie tumbled into the room, Jack shaking his head behind them. “Is Ray okay?” Burnie popped up first.

“Who the fuck are you?” Geoff glared at the girl.

“This is a mess.” Jack groaned, stepping over Burnie and Geoff to get into the room.

Ray laughed slightly from Ryan’s lap and waved at Burnie. “I’m alright.” He croaked. “Can someone hand me a water bottle?”

Jack sighed and handed Ray a bottle as Burnie collapsed on Jack’s bed and Geoff flopped onto the couch next to Ray and ryan. “I’m Beth.” The girl huffed. “What the fuck is going on?”

Ryan, Jack, Geoff, and Burnie shared looks as Ray just curled more into Ryan while sipping at the water. “Okay listen. That thing you’re doing with your friends, the contact a ghost every day for a week to get a wish?” Geoff said, giving Beth a pointed look. “Well it attracted a shit ton of ghosts.”

“What?” Beth frowned, folding her arms. Ryan knew that stance. That was the ‘You’re insane there are no such things as ghosts’ look. “We’ve only talked to one ghost.”

“You did so incorrectly.” Burnie frowned. “You talked to one ghost but you attracted every ghost for the next two miles.”

Beth snorted and stood. “Whatever, just give me our indictor.”

They all looked at Ryan who just shrugged. “Anne hid it.”

Beth groaned and the other guys looked relieved. Ray sat up a bit, still looking sick. “Listen, Beth.” He sighed. “I know you don’t believe us, but you’ve put everyone in that building in danger.”

Beth threw up her hands and stormed out of the dorm without saying another word. Ray slumped back into Ryan, what energy he had wasted. “I talked to professor Williams today.” Ryan said after a moment. “She said that there was some people that she could talk to.”

“That’s better than anything that we’ve had so far.” Geoff sighed. “Why did Ray have a panic attack?”

“I went to the freshmen dorms.” Ray sighed. “I went in through the side door but the ghosts have flooded the first floor now too. I thought I could get what I needed and get out but I was wrong.”

There was a collective sigh through the room but no one scolded Ray. They would have done the same. Ray eventually fell asleep leaning against Ryan as the rest of them did their homework. The board piece returned to Ryan’s desk at some point although none of them saw Anne move it back.

Burnie and Geoff were volunteered to go and get them food from a nearby Chinese restaurant. Ryan and Jack stayed behind to do work and make sure Ray was okay when he woke up. Ray was still asleep, however, when someone started banging on their door.

Jack frowned and looked through the peep hole. “Shit, hide the piece again.” He said as Ryan laid Ray on the couch and grabbed the piece. He shoved it into his drawer, nodding to Jack when he closed the drawer.

Jack sighed and opened the door. A tall football player with angry eyes stood in their doorway, Beth smiling brightly from behind him. Jack and Ryan rolled their eyes, unfazed. Freshmen were still in high school, weren’t they?

“So you’re the assholes harassing my girl?” The jock sneered, looking Jack over. “Which one is the fag?”

Jack nearly snarled at the jock and Ryan flinched at the name and got between the jock and Ray. “Fuck off.” Jack huffed, the usually calm student fuming.

“Give us our indicator and we’ll leave.” Beth smiled, hands on her hips. Her beefy boyfriend huffed at them, glaring at them. Honestly, Jack and Ryan had won bar fights by themselves because of Geoff and Burnie. One jock wouldn’t be a problem for them.

“I recommend you leave.” Ray said from behind Ryan, making all of the jump. Ryan looked at Ray and frowned. Anne’s cloud was covering Ray’s head and his eyes were blue instead of brown. Ray’s face twisted into a creepy smile. “You’re already cursed.”

Jack and Ryan shared worried looks then looked at Beth and her boyfriend. The jock looked like he was about to wet himself but Beth wasn’t backing down. “Go in there and get my indicator!” She told the jock who just shook his head.

“That guys fucked up!” The jock yelped, backing away from the door. He was clearly seeing something the rest of them were not. “I’m not going in there!”

Beth raged with a groan, chasing after her boyfriend who ran from their room like it as on fire. As soon as Jack closed the door, Ray slumped over, asleep again.

Ryan caught Ray and gently laid him down again. He looked no worse for ware and Anne was floating around them. “Anne.” Ryan breathed, relieved that Ray was alright. “Please don’t do that again.”

Jack sighed and laid down heavily on his bed. “This is just going to keep getting worse.” He groaned and stretched. “Will Prof Williams get her friends here in time?”

“I have no idea.” Ryan gently ran his fingers through Ray’s hair. “I hope so.”

When Burnie and Geoff finally returned with the food, Ray was awake and feeling better. Neither Jack nor Ryan saw it necessary to tell the others about Anne possessing Ray. They weren’t sure how they would take it, especially Ray. They did tell them about Beth and the jock showing up but made up what happened on the spot.

They ate quietly, all of them exhausted. Ryan glanced at his phone when it buzzed with a notification. He checked his email and raised an eyebrow. “Professor Williams said that her friends are coming to check this mess out.” He said, scanning the email. “They might be able to do something to get the ghosts to leave.”

“As long as we don’t have to do anything.” Geoff sighed. “I’ve had enough of this shit.”

Jack and Burnie nodded in agreement. Ray just grunted. “We’ve done enough.” He sighed, nibbling at the crackers her opted to eat instead of the Chinese food.

“We wouldn’t have to do anything.” Ryan chuckled, setting his phone aside and rubbed Ray’s back. “Just stopping them from making the ghosts angrier was enough.”

“Thank fuck.” Burnie laughed, smiling. “We should ban this Ouija shit here.”

“Agreed.” Jack snorted, shaking his head. “Let’s just not deal with ghosts for a while.”

“Other than Anne.” Ray smiled weakly at the ghost. “She’s been really helpful.”

Ryan nodded and shook his head. “If you can find a way to keep her from being eaten.”

“Thanks for telling me she possessed me by the way.” Ray said offhandedly, nibbling on a cracker. Ryan and Jack shared panicked looks while Burnie and Geoff’s jaws dropped. “I know who you didn’t but its fine. It’s happened before.”

“What?!” Geoff’s voice cracked, looking at Jack and Ryan who looked both relieved and nervous.

“She possessed you?!” Burnie looked around for Anne although he couldn’t see her at the moment.

“Ray.” Ryan sighed. “We were worried about how you would react.”

“It’s fine Rye.” Ray laughed weakly and kissed Ryan’s cheek. “She wouldn’t have been able to do it if I didn’t let her.”

Jack sighed. “Right, that makes sense I think.” He rubbed his head and leaned against Burnie. They ate in relative silence after that, occasionally mumbling about classes.

* * *

 

The ghost problem was cleared up two days later. Professor Williams refused to tell Ryan what they did but at least it was cleared up. Eventually Ray just moved in with them considering that Gavin started using Ray’s bed.

Ray and Ryan stayed happily together throughout the year although Ray kept picking up new ghosts. The summer was the hardest part because it was difficult to see each other. However, the first day back, Ryan had gotten to the apartment they had gotten together third.

Jack and Burnie were already setting up their rooms when Ryan arrived and they helped him to get his stuff into the room. Geoff arrived shortly after and they helped him to unpack as well. Ray was the last to arrive and Ryan met him on the street.

Ryan laughed as the force of Ray hitting him knocked them both to the ground. They kissed for only a moment before Ray’s mother started to fawn over them. Ray blushed deep red and Ryan just laughed. All of them helped Ray to get his stuff into their apartment. Ray wished his mother goodbye and they split up to unpack. Ryan happily noted that Burnie followed Jack into his room, before slipping into Ray’s room.

He wrapped his arms around Ray from behind and kissed his temple. “Ah, I missed you.” Ryan chuckled.

Ray laughed and leaned back into Ryan. “I missed you too Rye.” He said, turning around and wrapping his arms around Ryan’s shoulders.

They kissed slowly, Ryan pulled Ray closer. Unpacking was forgotten when they made out on Ray’s bed. Ryan never pushed further than that, he just missed holding Ray and talking to him in real life. The crappy skype connection just didn’t cut it. They eventually untangled themselves to finish unpacking.

Once they were finished and fed, the others laughed when Ryan disappeared into Ray’s room yet again and they didn’t hear from them for the rest of the night. Besides the few ghosts that were bound to show up, they were all pretty sure that this going to be a good year.


End file.
